Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A careless wager cost Lad his beloved bride-perhaps forever!, January 23, 2000
As a proud American, Lad Walker had nothing but contempt for his father's homeland and the English earl who had disinherited him long ago. But when he first set eyes on Diana Whitleby, his grandfather's goddaughter, he knew he would do anything to win her love, even assume the earldom of Kerlaine and strive to rescue the estate from the poverty into which it had fallen.As much as she loved him in return, Diana had made a prior commitment to protect the castle, the land, and the tenants at all costs. She knew her beloved American husband could not understand her feelings, anymore than he could fit into his role as the earl, but when he lost the entire estate on the turn of a card, Diana was forced to send him away until he could earn the money to redeem it. For the first several months of his exile, Lad's efforts met with nothing but failure. Then he had the good fortune to run into a real-life guardian angel who taught him how to behave like an English gentleman and helped him find an honorable way to win back his inheritance and his wife. Under his tutelage, Lad began to understand the English social system and, indeed, his own responsibilities as the earl of Kerlaine. What a shock, then, to return to Kerlaine with the means to redeem it, only to find his wife preparing to honor a dastardly wager of her own! The last of Mary Spencer's "Wager" trilogy, this book may be the best of them all. Not only does it portray the triumph of true love over evil, but it makes even this patriotic American reader begin to understand and appreciate the purposes and benefits of the English class system.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Completion for the Wager Trilogy, January 19, 2000
While this wasn't my favorite of the series, I was very pleased with this book. It wraps up all the loose ends of the previous two books while managing to maintain the focus of the story on Lad and Diana. Theirs is a bitter sweet romance which is portreyed partly through letters. While they fall in love almost right away, most of their time is spent apart.I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who has read the other two books. If you haven't, I am not sure that you will appreciate some of the minor characters in this book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well-written romance, March 24, 2000
By A Customer
Devil's Wager is yet again another example of Mary Spencer's intelligent, well above-average writing. There are only a few romance authors who seem to write for people who like a more indepth book, and she's one of them. This particular story is definitely a romance, but also much more. The reader is taken on both the hero's and heroine's vastly different journeys of discovery, though the focus is far more on the hero, Lad, than the heroine, Diana. Watching him evolve from a red-blooded American male into a proper English nobleman, and going through each difficulty he endures during his transformation, will hold readers transfixed. Spencer handles the change beautifully, so that rather than being an "Oh, brother!", readers are able to identify and understand how the "old" Lad becomes the "new" Lad -- the same man underneath, but stronger in almost every way. In other words, it's a realistic change. I do wish that Spencer had taken as much care with Diana, but the book overall was so strong that I'm able to overlook it. Devil's Wager, the third in a trilogy, does stand alone, but I would recommend reading the other books (Dark Wager, Lady's Wager) first in order to better appreciate some of the secondary characters. Apart from that, Lady's Wager is a real hoot to read. Very funny book.
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